Sex-for-rent landlords exposed

Cash-strapped students in Canterbury are being offered free rent in exchange for sex, an investigation has revealed.

Almost 20 landlords have admitted they are prepared to let female students live rent-free in the city, but only in return for intimate favours.

The seedy deals came to light as undercover reporter Claisse Opulencia went to see if vulnerable young women are being targeted in Canterbury.

In an advert posted on Craigslist, she posed as 20-year-old student called Isabelle who was “in desperate need of a free room”.

Within minutes she had her first response, and for days her phone was inundated with messages.

One landlord admitted to having properties close to the campuses of the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church, adding that his tenants are mostly students.

He said: “I usually charge £380 (pm). But if you’re serious then I’ll let you stay rent free.”

August is the time where ‘sex for rent’ landlords tend to search for new tenants, as students seek a term-time home.

There is no specific law stating that a tenant offering sex as payment for rent is unlawful, but it can be classified as incitement into prostitution. If convicted, a person can face seven years in prison in England and Wales.

Ellen Moran runs a campaign against sex-for-rent. She is pleading for changes in the laws so arrangements between a landlord or a tenant is made illegal. She said: “The authorities need to publicly recognise it is a crime and act on that by prosecuting in order to dissuade perpetrators.”